Reviews

When Lovecraft describes one of his monsters, he usually does so with ambiguous or unspecific terms to end with some adjective such as unspeakable or otherwise indescribable.
This is where the difficulty lies in trying to imagine these beings that just by seeing them produce an unspeakable horror with deadly consequences or, in the best of cases, madness.
In these three stories the suspense is maintained throughout its duration, but probably a reader who does not know the basics of Loveraft's work will be disappointed because a large part of the stories in their original versions focus on the emotions of the characters in their sufferings and their anguish that will eventually lead them to death or their madness depending on how lucky they are.

hakimbriki's review against another edition

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4.0

It's hard to rate this fairly because Gou Tanabe's work is directly tied to Lovecraft's. If I am considering Tanabe's contribution solely, I would give this 5 stars. The art is sumptuous and ferocious; it really brings out the existential dread that Lovecraft is so famous for. The Temple had the biggest impact on me in both short story and manga forms, thanks to a supremely horrifying setting and a gloriously open-ended conclusion. The other two aren't as absorbing, but Tanabe's illustrations are very hypnotizing and do great justice to Lovecraft's demented imagination.

alhead32's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

rhuntern's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The stories themselves, the ones written by Lovecraft, are okay. I particularly enjoyed The Hound in this collection the most, and I especially liked how the titular creature was interpreted. But the art is the real selling point here and elevates the otherwise just okay stories.

mmuutthh's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I liked Gou Tanabe's adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness well enough, so I wanted to explore the great artist's other work in adapting Lovecraft.

I was probably most thrown by the choice to modify the time of "The Temple" to be a WWII story focused on Nazis... Maybe it's just because more peoe are familiar with WWII imagery than the first war, but I didn't really take anything away from having made that change.

The other two stories work well enough in their adaptations without much in the way of taking me out of the stories based on creative decisions. I did think "The Hound" was probably the best and hung closest to the sort of ambiguity Lovecraft's work strove for.

The artwork is all incredible and amazingly rendered. It's hard to ask for more from short stories without much depth--heh... Considering how in one way or another each of the stories are about going underground... I'll be here all day. But they all feel a little slight and maybe it just is that the artwork does draw away from the atmosphere. Either way, very good. Just not AMAZING!

spaceman5000's review against another edition

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5.0

Hauntingly delicious manga adaptations of three Lovecraft stories, "The Temple," " The Hound," and "The Nameless City." Tanabe's art really sets a creepy and haunted mood throughout this collection. Highly recommended for any Lovecraft fan. (No tentacles, though....)

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